I Will Carry You
by Alora Garofallou
Summary: This starts off with Towen stuck in the elevator at the end of the mid-season finale, "Blowin In The Wind," except no Amelia. Just Teddy and Owen after Owen finds out he's going to be a daddy. How will the rest of their story play out with their impending arrival? Was originally a one-shot that now will be multi chapter because you guys are so sweet and wanted more!
1. Chapter 1

"We got this...hey, we GOT this." Owen said sternly to the man helping me pull the gurney of the patient with the license plate plummeting into his chest, into the elevator.

My heart was pounding, I had just told Owen that I was pregnant nonetheless with his child in the middle of our miracle case surgery. As everything else in my life, that is not what I planned. I didn't plan on telling my best friend that he was going to be a father in the middle of our OR in front of several random people, but I did, because strangely the moment finally felt right. The moment that had been delayed for over a month because we kept getting interrupted. But, there were also times when I had him alone that I could have said something but my emotions were so screwed up. He had a family now, and was I just going to waltz right into that with my knocked up self? No. I couldn't. But god I wanted to, not so much for me, but for my baby. Our baby.

Owen stared intensely at me, pain and confusion in his eyes, in his whole face.

"How could you have kept this from me?" He asked, sounding so hurt.

"Don't act like this should've been easy!" I shot back.

We just stared at one another for what seemed like a lifetime until we both felt a jolt, simultaneously with the elevator lights cutting out and then emergency lights shining a dim glow.

Owen had gently grabbed my arm, probably afraid that I almost fell back.

"What happened?" I looked around, puzzled.

"Must be the storm, powers out and we're trapped. Are you...okay?" He asked, his eyes darted down to my mid section.

I was a little shaken, and I'm pretty sure my 15 week old baby was too. I slowly put a hand to my abdomen, caressing it.

"We-we're okay." I said gently.

I looked over at my patient, stable for now but he needed to get to CT. Shit. I then felt Owen's eyes still on me.

"Teddy..." Owen began.

"Look Owen, I know. I know I should have told you sooner and I said I was sorry. I just-you moved on so fast and I know you said you made a mistake with not calling me after our fight but, you have this whole new life and how the hell was I supposed to interject in that?!" I exclaimed, tears beginning to pool in my eyes.

Owen stepped closer.

"Teddy, your presence in my life will never be an unwelcome one. I don't even know what my life is right now. When you asked me if I was happy? I didn't answer and you know why? Because I don't know. I don't know if I'm happy..." He paused. "What I do know? Is that I'm happy you're here, and, I am so happy about this..." He slowly put a hand to my abdomen, feeling for the first time my barely there bump where our child was growing.

"Owen..." I stared into his eyes, with my hand joining his.

All of a sudden, I felt intense cramping in my lower abdomen and I winced.

"What's wrong?" Owen asked, concerned.

"I-the baby, something's wrong. I'm cramping..." I said, starting to panic.

"Here, sit down, take a breath and relax." Owen guided me to the corner, taking over squeezing the bag that was keeping my patient breathing.

I took some deep breaths and gently rubbed slow circles over the abdomen. After a minute or so, the cramping subsided.

"Oh my god..." I suddenly say after the silence.

"What, is the cramping getting worse?!" Owen jumped.

"No, Owen..." I looked up at him with tears in my eyes, but they were happy tears.

"Teddy, what? What is it?" Owen asked, increasingly concerned.

I slowly got up from the corner, and took Owen's free hand and placed it on my belly.

"The baby's moving." I smiled.

Once the cramping had stopped, I felt those famous first flutters and I couldn't believe my luck that Owen was right beside me for our baby's first movements.

"Wow..." Owen said, smiling and crying. "It's like a little feather brushing against my hand," he exclaimed.

"Yup." I choked and looked down, our hands joined and just soaking in the moment.

"We're going to be okay, Teddy. We're going to figure this out." Owen nodded, reassuringly.

"What about Amelia, and the kids?" I asked, being brought back to what our situation actually was.

"We're going to figure it out." Owen said calmly and sweetly, looking into my eyes and back down to my abdomen.

Just then, the power surged back on and the elevator doors opened. Amelia.


	2. Chapter 2

The elevator doors pulled open and Amelia Shepherd stood in the entry way beaming.

"Oh, hey!" She exclaimed, a little surprised to see Owen and I together.

Owen took his hand off my abdomen so fast, like he was afraid of Amelia. I don't even think she noticed. Was he ashamed of me, of our child, now that Amelia was here?

"Hi," I said softly, with a small smile and looked over at Owen who just stared, trying to force a smile after coming out of his trance.

"What's up? Whoa..." Amelia said stepping in and looking over at my patient.

"Just bringing him up to CT. Amelia, we have to talk. All three of us..." Owen jumped right to it.

"Okay? Well, I have to talk to you about something too!" Amelia answered.

I just stood, frozen. The moment Owen and I shared just seconds before could be ruined in an explosion of impending drama that I was actually preparing myself for, for weeks.

"Is everything okay?" Owen and I both asked Amelia.

"Yes, actually," Amelia smiled, "Perfect."

"Okay, let us get him to CT and see where he's at. I'll page you when we're ready to talk." Owen said.

Amelia just nodded and stepped back out of the elevator. Once again Owen and I were alone, shared a nervous look and headed up to CT.

About an hour later, after getting out of CT I was setting up my patient in the CICU. He needed surgery but wasn't stable enough to go in yet, I'd be paged when he's ready.

It was time to talk.

Amelia, Owen and I met up in the Attending's Lounge. The silence was almost gut wrenching, trying to figure out who would speak first.

"So..." Amelia started awkwardly, "What's going on with you two?"

"I-um," I looked over at Owen, and he actually took my hand and squeezed it.

"Teddy and I, we're..., we're going to have a baby." Owen finished for me.

Amelia's eyes widened, but she didn't seem upset. On the contrary really, she smiled.

"Oh, wow!" She replied, with a stunned undertone.

"Yeah," Owen laughed nervously, "Germany."

"Amelia, I'm so sorry. I really didn't want to come between whatever it is you have going on with Owen right now and those kids." I jumped in, slightly panicky.

Owen looked at me a little insulted.

"Teddy don't apologize for our child." He snapped.

"Yeah, no. I mean I'm a little shocked but, a baby is beautiful Teddy. You'll be a wonderful mother." Amelia replied.

I was in shock over her reaction. I honestly could not believe it. I really thought she'd run off, pissed, hurt and confused but her entire reaction was the complete opposite. What was going on, and what did she have to talk to us about?

"Well, we'll talk more about this but Amelia, what did you have to talk to me about?" Owen asked.

"I can go if you want to talk privately, my patient should be ready for surgery soon." I started to get up.

"No, no stay Teddy. You're kind of part of this too, since you've been such a huge help regarding Betty the last few days." Amelia gestured for me to sit back down.

"What about Betty?" Owen inquired.

"Well," Amelia took a breath, "I want to apply to be Betty's official foster mom."

Owen looked stunned. I don't think he ever expected Amelia to get this attached, although she had been the one to take Betty under her wing during her recovery.

"Really?" Owen asked.

"Yeah. This has been a crazy day, crazy last few months really and I know we haven't made anything official or really established anything with us or with the kids but I know this is what I want. She came back, she needs us, she needs...me." Her eyes started to fill with tears. This was really important to her.

"So, if you do this Amelia, you know you're probably going to have to move out of my house..." Owen said carefully.

"I know," she responded coolly, "And I think that's a good idea because you have other things to focus on right now," She looked towards me, "And Leo."

I looked over at Owen, he looked at me and almost on cue the baby began to flutter again. I took that as a sign, maybe this was going to be okay.

After our conversation, which went as smoothly as I it could have been I headed into surgery. I was slightly concerned about being unfocused, the whole day had been a rollercoaster of emotions and I was exhausted. Even though Maggie Pierce and I weren't on the best of terms, she softened up on me a bit when she heard that Owen and Amelia finally knew about the baby. She even finished up the surgery for me so I could leave and get some rest.

As I was scrubbing out, Owen walked in.

"Hey, how'd it go?" He asked, looking through the glass into the OR.

"Great," I replied, "Dr. Pierce is just closing now, he should make a full recovery."

"Good," Owen paused, "Hey, I was thinking, what do you think about staying at my place for a few days? We can talk about stuff, you won't have to be alone in that hotel room anymore. What do you think?" He asked slowly.

I hesitated. I really wasn't sure if I'd be comfortable with that just yet. I had just told him I was pregnant that day, then again I was already in my second trimester and time was flying by, we really did need to figure things out.

"Sure," I said, "As long as you're really comfortable with that."

"Teddy, you're carrying my child. I want to be there, with you, as much as possible." Owen smiled.

That smile. That calm, sweet, reassuring smile that got me every time. He really was going to be such an amazing father. Even if we didn't end up together, I'm glad I'm having this baby with him and I'm glad I finally, finally told him.


	3. Chapter 3

Owen's house really had come together since he moved in, it felt like a home not just a house, a home he could fill with a wife and a bunch of kids. Every time he would FaceTime me over the years, showing me what he had done with the place over time, part of me always wondered if I would live in that home with him someday. But, Amelia had come into the picture, they married and I put that thought to rest.

But now here I was after all of this time, standing in his foyer, four months pregnant with his child, watching him set my things down and get situated.

"Make yourself at home." Owen smiled, taking my coat.

"Okay," I breathed nervously, kind of like I had when Meredith invited me to stay with her for the day and help her bake cookies.

I slowly made my way into the living room, settling down on the couch, it felt good to finally get off my feet. I was so exhausted, my eyes heavier than they've ever felt, I closed them just for a second. A second was all it took.

"Hey," I heard Owen softly say. He was knelt beside me on the couch.

"Hey, sorry I just had to close my eyes for a second." I said a little embarrassed.

Owen laughed, "Try an hour and a half, Teddy."

"What?! I fell asleep for an hour and a half?" I asked, shocked.

"Yup. You were exhausted, and I don't blame you. Its been a hell of a day and on top of it you're growing a tiny human." Owen said.

I couldn't help it. My hand went to my stomach and I smiled, looking down at it and giving it a little rub.

"Our tiny human." I said smiling.

Owen got up and joined me on the couch, and placed his hand atop mine. I felt a wave of comfort as we looked down at the slight curvature of my stomach. Our baby was right here with us and everything felt okay, my nervous energy dissipated.

The next morning a beautiful sunrise woke me as the light shone through the curtains. I smiled at the sight, not only that I felt completely refreshed. I had the best sleep I've had since coming back to Seattle, ironically in Owen's house, where I had been so nervous about staying. But it really hadn't been all that weird. The night before we talked for hours after my nap about...everything. Germany, Amelia, the kids, our baby, when I found out I was pregnant, everything.

We were finally starting to understand one another again, and get back to normal at least with out friendship, which is what I missed the most.

"Hey, you're up," Owen smiled looking up from his iPad and putting down his cup of coffee as I stepped into the kitchen, "Coffee?" He asked.

"Decaf, please." I smirked.

"Right," Owen laughed, "That must be killing you." He said getting up from the table.

I laughed and put a hand to my belly, "it's worth it."

"So, did you sleep okay, were you comfortable?" He asked while preparing the coffee.

"Best sleep I've had in weeks." I said taking a seat.

"Good," Owen smiled.

It was silent for a bit while Owen got my cup of coffee together.

"So, Owen, I was thinking," I broke the silence, "What do you think about accompanying me to an ultrasound today?, It'd be the first one I've had since Germany."

Owen froze for a second and turned around.

"You'd be comfortable with that?" He asked carefully.

"Of course. Owen, this is your baby too. I want you to be there for everything...I feel guilty you've already missed so much." I said looking down.

"Hey, hey don't feel guilty," He said coming over to me, "Sure, I would have loved to be with you when you found out you were pregnant, for the very first doctor's appointment. But, I'm here now and we still have so long to go and you know what the best part is?"

"What?" I replied.

"We're going to have this little life we created to love and enjoy for the rest of our lives." Owen said brushing away the tears rolling down my cheeks, "So in other words, I would love to accompany you today."

God he was going to be such an amazing dad.

"So, are you in the mood for a nice big breakfast to start your day and get your mojo going?" Owen asked.

"Mmmm, I could eat any and everything," I laughed, "What did you have in mind?"

"Your favorite. Sunny side up eggs, pancakes and crispy bacon drowning in maple syrup." He smirked.

"That sounds amazing," and considering I was feeling no nausea whatsoever I added, "the baby definitely agrees." I said.

Owen whipped up the most amazing breakfast. I had been eating well but definitely not as much as I should have. Because of the nausea, hormones and nerves I'd been battling my appetite had been suffering and I was only eating one meal a day, throwing in a protein bar everyday for breakfast. I felt guilty about not giving my baby the nourishment it deserved. I shamelessly devoured my meal within minutes and Owen was cracking up, calling me a "savage mama bear," playfully.

I was, and it felt good. Being in his presence, in his home felt good. It felt right. Finally. And today, we were finally going to see our baby, together.


	4. Chapter 4

I showered and dressed as quickly as possible, I was so anxious to get the day going. Owen was going to see his child for the first time, and I for the first time in weeks. The shirt I put on framed my little bump perfectly. And the funny thing was, I had been hiding it all this time. I wasn't ashamed of it, not one bit, but I did not want Owen to figure it out on his own. Now, I couldn't wait to show it off.

I was alone in the guest bedroom, just staring at myself in the mirror. I had been so wrapped up in the anxiety of telling Owen all these weeks that I hadn't really taken the time to notice my tiny human growing.

"Hi baby," I said turning to the side with tears in my eyes, "Your daddy and I can't wait to see you...hold you."

Suddenly Owen came up behind me.

"You got that right." He said putting his hands on my shoulders and looking in awe into the mirror with me.

I let out a small laugh, a little embarrassed and wiped my tears away.

"Ready to go?" I asked.

"Absolutely."

Owen and I drove separately to the hospital, not knowing when either one of us would get off work. Our days could be so unpredictable and there was still so much going on in regards to the horrific wind storm.

We headed to OB holding hands on the walk, in the elevator and it felt like old times. I was simply hand in hand with my best friend. Only now we were accompanied by a tiny someone who was half me, and half him. Sometimes I still had trouble wrapping my mind around it, it was mind blowing. After all these years, we were having a baby together.

"Just breathe," Owen said to me, noticing how tightly I was gripping his hand.

"This is just-" I started.

"I know." Owen smiled.

"We're going to see our baby." I said, starting to cry again of course.

"I know. And it's going to be just fine, you'll see. She's happy and growing in there and soon we'll have her in our arms." Owen said beaming.

"She?" I asked, confused.

"I know it's going to be a girl," Owen said, "I just have a feeling and my gut is always right."

I gave him a little snort.

"Well, almost always." He laughed, and I did too.

Before I knew it I was lying down, pulling up my shirt while Carina DeLuca squirted cold gel on my stomach.

"Okay Dr. Altman, lets get started," Carina said smiling, starting to move the probe around.

I stared intently at the monitor and within thirty seconds there it was, there she was, or he. I would be happy with whatever we had but, I was with Owen, my gut was telling me I was looking back at a girl, our baby girl.

"And here we go," Carina said, pointing on the monitor, "Your little baby, perfect for 16 weeks."

Owen started crying, I wasn't too far behind him. Our baby was healthy, moving around and growing by day. Once Carina turned up the volume for us to hear the heartbeat, that was it, we both completely lost it.

"Do you want to know the sex of the baby? At this point my answer is about 80% accurate." Carina asked.

I looked up at Owen.

"It's up to you." Owen nodded towards me.

I looked back at Carina, and took a breath.

"Tell us." I smiled.

"Congratulations Dr. Altman, Dr. Hunt, its a baby girl."

We were right, he was right. God, why was he always right. But we were having a girl. Owen and I would have a daughter.

"Allison," I whispered to myself and rubbed my belly as I laid down to go to sleep that night.

Allison would be our daughters name. Allison was my person, my best friend before Owen, and had died in the second tower. I'd be damned if I didn't carry on her amazing legacy. I knew that Owen would be on board, I talked about Allison all the time in Iraq, I mean, she was the reason I went there in the first place. And if it wasn't for Iraq I would never have met Owen and if I had never met Owen, I wouldn't be bringing my daughter into this world in about 5 months. This was fate, this was how it was supposed to happen.


	5. Chapter 5

It had been several weeks since Owen and I found out we were expecting a baby girl.

I still couldn't believe it, I would be bringing my and my best friends baby into this world in about four months. It was an unreal feeling and although my feelings for Owen hadn't changed, I knew we would figure it out as we went along. Right now, all that mattered was our daughter.

"Hey, how are you and my sweet pea doing?" Owen asked as he came into the living room, where I was snuggled up reading a book, one hand resting on my everyday bigger baby bump.

"We're fine," I smiled, "I love it when you call her that."

Owen handed me a cup of chamomile tea and knelt down by my bump, kissing it softly.

"I love her so much. Teddy. I can't even believe how much I love her already." Owen said with tears in his eyes.

Right then Allison did the softest of kicks against her daddy's lips.

"She loves you too," I said, starting to cry myself.

"I can't wait until she becomes bigger and her kicks are stronger!" Owen said excitedly.

"Oh, yeah! That's going to be a blast!" I scoffed while laughing and rubbing my belly.

"It'll be amazing, because you and our daughter are amazing." Owen said.

We just started at one another in silence for a few moments. Suddenly Leo's cries interrupted us in the other room, he had been napping for over two hours already.

"I've got him," Owen smiled and patted my knee.

This truly was amazing. The fact that I was pregnant, that my best friend and I would have a daughter. I was immensely happy, but suddenly I felt a wave of sadness. I could have had this so much sooner. A child, a family. But I was young, focused, determined to be a doctor.

The first time I became pregnant, I was 16 years old and about to be a senior in high school. It was so unlike me. I was one of the "good ones." But I fell in love, or at least I thought I had fallen in love with my first boyfriend. Jonathan and I waited until we had been together six months. I thought I was ready. My parents always said, "don't have sex unless you're in love, Teddy Bear. But even then, you have to be cautious because, you can't take it back." That was their realistic approach, abstinence just wasn't a thing with most teenagers.

I wish I had waited. It would have saved many people a lot of heartache.

It was July 4th, Jonathan and I were at my family's annual barbecue. I was so nauseous. All of the food I would normally devour was making me want to vomit just at the site of it.

"Babe, aren't you hungry? Your dad just put out some burgers, you love burgers." Jonathan said.

"No, I-I just..." And with that I ran back into my house and heaved up what little I had eaten that day.

"What the hell?" I had said out loud, gathering myself. And then I had thought about the date. I was late. Beyond late.

I sat alone on my bed, for what felt like hours. I couldn't move. I couldn't breathe. I was so scared.

I am just shy of 17, I'm going to be a senior, I'm a straight A student, going into pre-med...I can't have a baby. I kept running it in my head over and over until Jonathan found me.

"Babe, what the hell? Where have you been? You okay? You look like shit..." he said.

"Gee thanks..." I said, tears building up.

"Whoa, I'm sorry its just-what's going on?" He asked, actually concerned.

I slowly looked up at him, biting my lip.

"I think I'm pregnant."

The silence could have been cut with a knife.

"P-pregnant? But we only had sex like, twice!" Jonathan started to panic and pace around my room.

"Yeah. I'm pretty sure it only takes once time, genius." I shot back.

"Right I'm just a dumb jock and you're the star student who's going to be a doctor but don't talk down to me. Why aren't you on birth control if you're so smart DOCTOR Altman?!" He yelled.

"Don't put this on me! You said you used a condom!" I was shaking, putting my hands to my face I screamed, "I can't have a baby, I can't have a baby...!"

Suddenly Jonathan sat back down next to me, putting his arm around me and took a deep breath.

"Okay, okay, breathe honey. I'm sorry for yelling." He was suddenly so calm.

"I can't have this baby Jon, I can't...I have so many plans. We, have so many plans..." I cried.

"But we're going to have a baby, Ted." He said maturely.

"What?" I looked up at him.

"I know you're scared. We both screwed up but, now we have this little life we created on the way. We're going to go to the doctor on Monday and we're gonna figure this out babe."

This was not the reaction I was anticipating, I thought Jonathan would have been out the door as soon as I said the word "pregnant." For a moment, I had considered having his baby, and possibly marrying him after high school. College, well, being a doctor seemed out of the question for the time being. As sweet and supportive as Jonathan ended up being, I couldn't do it. I couldn't be a teenage mother. Giving up college, med school, my dream career. Not only that, we were so young and inexperienced with life. Our child deserved better. But I had the baby. I carried it, and knowing how it was going to end was the hardest thing my young heart had ever endured. Jonathan stayed by my side the whole time, but as the pregnancy progressed and decisions were made we began to drift farther and farther apart. He wanted to keep the baby, I wanted to give it up for adoption because that's what I felt was best given our situation. I was set to go into pre-med at Columbia University and Jonathan had a full ride to UCLA to play football. Our baby deserved mature, financially stable, loving parents. I loved my baby and that is why I gave him away.

At only 17 years old, starting my senior year three months pregnant, going into labor in the middle of a history presentation, going through that labor for 15 hours and pushing a human being out of my body was the most humiliating, amazing, and heartbreaking experience I had ever endured.

On my final push, I slumped back into the bed as I felt the relief of my baby finally being born. But it was far from over. My mom had been holding my hand the whole time. Jonathan didn't come to the hospital when I went into labor, he said he didn't want "to see me throw our child away." It was so hurtful. We were done. We had been done for awhile. But I knew I had made the right decision. But the next words I heard broke me.

"It's a boy! Congratulations, Theodora." The nurse said.

I began to cry. I couldn't look at him. I didn't want to get attached, but I already was. I had grown and felt this beautiful little boy inside me for months. We had been through so much together.

"Honey, you can still change your mind," my mom said, crying and stroking my sweaty hair away from my eyes.

"No, no. This, this is the right thing to do, for him." I choked.

"Okay, okay baby." My mom said, smiling sadly and looked over at the baby getting cleaned off and wrapped in a blue blanket.

"How is he?" I asked.

"He's beautiful, Teddy Bear. Looks just like you did." She said.

I sat up, slowly.

"Can I-can I hold him?" I asked carefully.

"Of course you can sweetheart." The nurse said and handed me this incredibly sweet, perfect little boy.

I took him gently in my arms. I marveled at his perfect face for so long, amazed at how much he really did look like me. For a moment, I wanted to change my mind, and hold onto my little boy and never let him go. I laid there, holding and talking to him until I felt I was ready to let him go.

"You're going to have the best life little man. I just wasn't ready to give it to you. But I will always have a place in my heart for you. I will always think about and love you. Forever." And I kissed his little forehead and handed him back to the nurse, who prepared to bring him to his adoptive parents. And I cried for hours. Days. Years.

The second time I became pregnant, was with Henry. My dear, sweet Henry. I had found out I was pregnant two weeks after he died, and I couldn't bare it. My physical and emotional state clearly took its toll, because as soon as I got used to the idea, at about 8 weeks, of having Henry's baby, I miscarried. That was more painful than giving up my baby boy all those years ago. My husband had died and now my child was dead. The physical and emotional pain of a miscarriage was something I never wanted to endure. But it made me appreciate life more. But after that, I never thought I would become a mother.

Sitting here, gently stroking my growing baby bump, feeling my little girl squirm inside me, felt like a dream. I sat thinking about my teenage pregnancy, my miscarriage and I realized, Owen never knew about any of this. I never told him despite everything we've shared.

"You okay?" Owen startled me as he came back in the living room, sitting beside me and placing his hand back on my bump so he could feel our daughters movements.

"Just fine," I said halfheartedly, "How's Leo?"

"Oh he's fine. Just got a little restless is all." Owen smiled.

I must have gone back into thought because Owen noticed something was off right away.

"Teddy. I know you, somethings not right..." Owen pressed.

I was about to have a child with this man, embark possibly on a real relationship with him. I had to be honest.

"Owen...our little Allison, she isn't my first child..."


	6. Chapter 6

Owen just stared at me blank and confused.

How the hell was I going to reveal these dark memories of my past after Owen thought he knew everything about me?

"Teddy...I've known you for nearly 17 years, and you've never mentioned children in your life. You've mentioned wanting them, but never...having them...already." He pressed.

I started crying, hugging my belly tightly as Allison started moving around vigorously, probably in response to my aggravation.

"Shh, baby girl, it's okay." I whispered through my tears. Owen leaned forward, joining me in trying to calm the baby down.

"Teddy, what's going on?" He asked concerned.

I took a deep breath.

"Owen, I've never been happier in my life. Please don't doubt that. I just never thought I'd be having a baby right now, let alone with my best friend. Having her with you, it's-it's a miracle. But, finding out we're having a girl, starting to feel her move, it makes everything so much more real. And with that, memories came flooding back. Memories I've tried to block out." I said quietly.

"What...memories...Teddy, you've been pregnant before?" Owen asked, still confused as ever.

"Twice." I responded.

"Twice." Owen repeated, stunned.

"When I was 16. I found out I was pregnant the summer before my senior year of high school. I almost didn't have...him. But I did. And then I gave him away..." I burst into tears.

"Teddy..." Owen was stunned.

I waved my hands around, trying to diffuse my emotions.

"I know I made the right decision. I know I did what was best for him. I was mature for my age, yes, but I was not ready to be a teenage mother. I was focused on my impending career, and had a boyfriend who couldn't handle the reality of our situation. He didn't show up when I went into labor, in history class mind you, how cliché of a teen pregnancy. And he wasn't even there when he was born..."

Owen just continued to listen, nodding sympathetically and agreeably.

"He was so angry with me that I chose adoption. He wanted to raise the baby together, forget college and get married after high school." I scoffed.

"But," I breathed, "I fell in love with that baby over those 9 months. It's hard not to get attached to something that grows inside you," I looked down at my growing belly, one hand resting on it, "And when I looked at his face, I didn't want to let him go. I almost couldn't let him go. He was so beautiful and perfect." I said softly.

"Do you...know anything about him?" Owen asked.

"I know they moved to California when he was six weeks old, they were only staying in the city temporarily and that they named him Bradley." I nodded, thinking about it.

Owen just nodded along, probably not knowing what to say next.

"After that, I don't know. It was a closed adoption. Giving him up was the hardest thing I had ever done and I wanted to cut all ties. Let him go, move on. That's why I've never tried to find him, or mentioned him to anyone. Not even Allison. It was almost too painful to talk about." I said.

"I can only imagine." Owen replied.

There was a moment of silence, and I just stared off at the ceiling, absentmindedly rubbing my belly, where my sweet Allison finally started to relax.

"I think about him all the time. I named him for myself, Henry. Which is so ironic, considering..." I laughed thinking about my beloved late husband. The father of my OTHER child.

Owen nodded sympathetically.

"Speaking of..." I started.

"Your second pregnancy..." Owen said gently.

"Yes. Shortly after Henry died, I found out I was pregnant."

Owen's face looked pained.

"I was devastated. I didn't know if I could carry and give birth to my dead husbands baby, the thought was so painful. But I got attached, of course, I couldn't imagine aborting Henry's baby...my baby." I teared up again.

"So...what happened? I don't remember you saying anything about being pregnant..." Owen asked.

"I miscarried at 8 weeks. Right before I left for Germany. Fate had made the decision for me apparently." I said thickly.

"Oh my god. Teddy, I had no idea. I'm so sorry you had to go through that. With both of your pregnancies. But I do know the pain of losing a child..." Owen said with a thick layer of hurt in his voice.

Cristina's abortion. The child Owen wanted so deeply. I just nodded slowly, we didn't talk about it any further.

"So," I said trying to be more upbeat, patting my belly, "this little girl here, is my third." I looked at Owen with wide eyes and a soft smile.

Owen smiled back, his eyes sparkling. He leaned over and started placing kisses all over my belly. I laughed at the tickled sensation from his lips and Allison's flutters. Then he stopped, and looked up at me.

"And she will be perfect. Healthy and beautiful, just like her mommy. Right little miss? Are you going to be perfect?" Allison responded to Owens question with a series of soft stirs.

Then we just stared at each other, both marveling over what I just shared with him and our little girl. Suddenly he leaned forward, cupped my face and kissed me passionately. Then he pulled away almost as fast as he came.

"I'm sorry, I just-I'm sorry." He backed away.

"Owen...I'm not." and with that I leant forward and kissed him back.


	7. Chapter 7

Owen and I just kept kissing, barely coming up for air.

"Owen..." I gasped.

He ran his hands roughly through my blonde curls. My heart was racing, excitement and arousal coursing through my veins. I couldn't stop, I didn't want him to stop, I only wanted more. The fact that Owen made the first move melted away my insecurities. Maybe he finally wanted me this time, and only me.

"Teddy," Owen stopped kissing me for a moment, "do you want this?" He asked gently.

Sex. He wanted to know if I wanted to have sex, and god, did I want to. To have Owen again, would feel amazing. The question was, did I want to open myself up to him and be hurt, again?

But my body and hormones had a mind of their own. One thing led to another and once again Owen and I were laying side by side, in opposite directions, tangled up in the sheets.

"That was..." Owen panted.

"Amazing." I finished with a soft smile.

"So you're okay? The baby's okay?" Owen asked concerned.

I laughed at his question. Not that I didn't appreciate his concern but being a doctor, he's the first one who should know that sex wouldn't hurt the baby.

"I'm fine," I giggled, "she's fine," I said rubbing my bump, "snoozing away."

There was a pause, just the sound of us catching our breath flooded the silence.

"So what does this mean, Teddy?" Owen asked, rubbing my calf like he did that night in Germany.

"Well, I don't know Owen. We just had sex for the first time since -" I paused.

"Since I fucked everything up" Owen said sadly looking at the ceiling.

I smiled and placed his hand on my bump.

"Not everything. We're getting her out of it. Who knows if I'd ever have a chance to have a baby again if you didn't come knocking on my door that night." I laughed.

"Yeah but, it wasn't right. We shouldn't have fought, or had the time apart that we did. I shouldn't have bounced back to Amelia out of fear and loneliness. She didn't deserve that and you especially didn't deserve that." Owen replied.

I sat up slowly, as fast as my growing belly allowed.

"Owen, we both made mistakes." I admitted.

Owen sat up as well and took my hand.

"Teddy. You are my best friend, my soulmate, the love of my damn life. Not only that, you are the mother of my beautiful child. You are everything, and I wish I had known and said all of this sooner." Owen responded.

I was in shock. I wasn't even sure if I believed him. All of a sudden, I yelled out and clutched my belly, a sharp pain tore through my lower abdomen and everything went dark.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

I heavily opened my eyes and awoke to the sound of a heart monitor amongst other noises. Suddenly Owen rushed to my side. He looked exhausted, and scared.

"Teddy. Oh my god, you're awake!" He gasped and kissed my forehead.

"What happened?" I asked, trying to sit up.

"No, no don't sit up. Just relax," Owen guided me back down. "The doctors aren't really sure what happened. The baby's okay, there was no bleeding. They think the pain and the blackout might have been stress related and that you were dehydrated."

I rubbed my belly. My daughter was okay. She was alive. Waking up, she was the first thing I thought of and I thought the worst.

"I'm so glad she's okay, when I felt that pain I...I don't even know it all happened so fast." I said choking up.

"I know, I had never been more scared in my life." Owen replied and joined his hand with mine. Allison stirred slowly.

"If anything had happened..." I said shakily.

Suddenly Dr. Carina DeLuca stepped in.

"Dr. Altman, you're up! I hope I'm not interrupting." She said sweetly.

"No, not at all." I said smiling.

"Okay. So your blood pressure was a little low, and you were definitely dehydrated," Carina stated, "But I'm concerned about the pain you experienced before you passed out. Now there was no bleeding and you haven't had any contractions but, I worry that your body is trying to tell you something..." Carina said carefully.

"I, I don't know. I mean I've been feeling good. Owens been great. I can't think of anything that would have brought on the pain." I responded, trying to think.

Suddenly Owen spoke up.

"Carina, could you uh, give us a minute."

"Of course." Carina smiled and stepped out.

"Teddy, do you think...do you think what I told you brought this on?" Owen asked guiltily.

His admission. His love. His speech that brought shock to my system, but the thing was, it wasn't necessarily a bad shock.

"Oh Owen, god no. I was shocked, absolutely. But your words didn't put me or our daughter at risk. I promise you that." I said reassuringly and took his hand.

"Okay." Owen breathed.

"But Owen, you said those words before. You told me you loved me, and only me and that this was it. And then, it wasn't."

"Teddy, I know, I know. And I said I fucked up. I was conflicted, torn by past and present emotions. I wasn't ready, but I am

now. I am ready to commit to you and especially our daughter. She deserves a family." Owen stated.

"I don't want you to be with me just for the baby, Owen." I said slightly disappointed.

"No, Teddy. That's not what I'm saying. Baby or not, I would want you, forever. Our daughter just adds to my love for you. She's the light at the end of this dark tunnel we've both traveled through all these years." Owen replied.

"She is." I said, beginning to cry.

"Teddy. This is it. You, and Allison are it. My everything, my reason for living. I'm never letting you go again, as long as I live."

All of a sudden, Owen pulled a small royal blue box out of his back pocket. He opened it, revealing a beautiful princess cut diamond ring. I gasped and tears began flooding down my cheeks. Allison started kicking vigorously, probably because my heart was leaping.

"Theodora Altman, would you do me the amazing honor of becoming my wife?" Owen asked.


End file.
